By Joshua Berlinger, Brett McKeehan, Emma Reynolds and Peter Wilkinson, CNN
From CNN's Sheena Jones
The state of New Jersey announced 523 new Covid-19 cases and 103 additional Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, according to a tweet from Gov. Phil Murphy.
Overall, the state has had a total of at least 166,605 cases.
Approximately 12,589 have died from the virus so far in the state, the tweet says.
Read the tweet:
From CNN's Wayne Sterling
At least 10 Iowa State University student-athletes, including two football players, have tested positive for Covid-19, the university's athletic department tells CNN Sports in a statement on Saturday.
None of the student-athletes participated in team activities at the time they were exposed to the virus, according to the school.
The statement said that since the time of the positive tests, all members of the football team who are returning to campus were tested.
"Of the 147 players and staff tested, only two of the returning players have tested positive for Covid-19," the statement said.
The statement also said the athletic department is taking precautions and has "protocols for contact tracing as well as isolation to limit the spread of the disease."
"The university feels strongly about balancing the privacy of our student-athletes and being transparent as well as avoiding speculation on case numbers," the statement added.
Some context: Earlier this month, Iowa State's athletic department announced that a part-time student worker tested positive for the virus and that four student-athletes were quarantined when they experienced coronavirus-like symptoms after contact with an infected person outside the department.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
New York state reported 32 lives lost on June 12 due to the coronavirus Gov. Andrew Cuomo said adding, it’s the “lowest number of deaths that we have seen since this started.”
“We’ve done it, we have tamed the beast, we are now 180 degrees on the other side,” Cuomo said at a news conference today.
The hospitalization number is 1,734, the lowest since March 20.
“All the news is very, very good,” he said earlier.
The governor noted that the state went from the worst infection rate in the country, to the lowest rate in the nation calling it a “dramatic” turn around.
The states rate of transmission is .77, the governor said.
Cuomo stressed that the testing data continues to drive reopening.
Cuomo urged residents to continue to follow Covid-19 guidelines as other states have seen an increase in cases.
“New York is exactly the opposite,” he said adding virtually all the other states reopened and saw the number go up, according to his data.
The governor announced that Western New York will move to phase 3 on Tuesday and the Capital region moves to phase 3 Wednesday.
“Discipline matters” he said adding that local governments must continue to enforce compliance, study the data, and trace positives.
WATCH GOV. CUOMO:
From CNN's Nicky Robertson
President Donald Trump, in an address to the 1,107 graduates of the West Point class of 2020, thanked all of the branches of the military for their help in fighting Covid-19 calling it an “invisible enemy.”
He declared “we will vanquish the virus, we will extinguish this plague.”
According to a projection released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US could suffer 130,000 coronavirus deaths by July 4, and Covid-19 cases could rise this summer as states reopen, the CDC's deputy director for infectious diseases said during a conference call with reporters.
"If anything, we must be overprepared for what we might face later this year," said Dr. Jay Butler. "Getting the flu vaccine will be more important than ever, as flu and Covid-19 could be circulating together as we move into the fall and winter months."
More cities and states have reported increasing rates of new coronavirus cases per day as the nationwide total number of cases passed 2 million this week.
WATCH:
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
Olympic gold-medal gymnasts Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez shared tips on how kids can keep their minds and bodies active while cooped up inside because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Just try to stay positive. I know that right now, everything feels like it’s just kind of upside-down, so finding things that make you feel good and make you happy, whether that’s working out or trying to learn how to cook or watching your favorite TV shows, music, connecting with your friends … just try to do things that make you happy, because right now, it feels a little scary,” Hernandez said during CNN and Sesame Street's town hall.
Simone Biles told CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Erica Hill and “Sesame Street” character Rosita that her gym just recently reopened, but before that, she had to do workouts on Zoom.
"We're all in this together ... keep your head up," Biles said.
Hernandez also said that while it was “kind of tough” when the Summer Olympics were postponed, it was the right decision to keep all the athletes and spectators safe.
Watch more:
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
From South Africa to Mexico, CNN's global correspondents and Sesame Street's Raya in India showed viewers how children around the world are having fun and remaining safe while staying home during the coronavirus pandemic.
During CNN and Sesame Street's town hall, correspondent David McKenzie took the audience to Johannesburg, South Africa where children are playing games indoors, cooking for their families and doing their school work from home to keep learning.
Muppet Raya in India said that even though schools are still closed, he was able to go to a park while practicing social distancing.
"I still got to see my friend, I waved to him from across the park and even gave him an 'air five.' It was great to see him, even at a distance," Raya said.
Watch more:
Sonja Santelises, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, said though it has been a challenging time for kids and families finishing school through remote learning this year, districts are working to come up with a safe plan for returning in the fall.
During a CNN/Sesame Street town hall on Saturday, Santelises said that it starts with educators accessing where students are in terms of learning and knowledge when they come back to the classroom and how they are feeling emotionally.
"I think one of the things that students should feel comfortable about is your teachers are, one, going to still be there to welcome you. That's not changing. You will still have friends there. That's not changing, and we are all working to make sure that you're safe and that it's okay to be a little scared," Santelises said.
School safety measures: Santelises said things like how classrooms are set up, for example, would look different in the fall. She said administrators are also working on ways to keep students together in smaller groups and considering options that include not everyone coming to school on the same day.
She also said, "the chances are that you will have to wear a mask when you come back to school."
But for now, Santelises told parents to keep working with their children and setting aside time to do school work.
"I have three daughters and some days they are just not in the mood to do as much work at the same time, but we made sure that every day there's a little bit of work done in some of those key skills in reading and math," Santelises said.
From CNN's Melissa Mahtani
A host of Sesame Street characters thanked all the heroes fighting to keep the country healthy during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thank you to all the amazing heroes out there helping and caring for everyone” said Sesame Street’s Abby Cadabby said during /nd Sesame Street's town hall on Covid-19.
Abby, along with her two friends Elmo and Grover, sang a special "Thank You" song highlighting health care professionals, shop workers and a whole host of others who work to keep “everyone on our street” safe.
Watch the full song here:
From CNN's Kevin Bohn, Caroline Kelly and Nicky Robertson
President Trump will soon address approximately 1,100 graduates who have gathered at the US Military Academy at West Point for the annual commencement exercises.
The class of 2020 West Point graduates can be seen wearing face coverings and standing socially distanced from each other at the ceremony held across the Plain Parade Field.
Other Covid-19 protection measures: The students were coronavirus-tested and separated into groups of 250 to live, work and eat together for a two-week quarantine leading up to the graduation address.
Family and friends will not be allowed to attend the ceremony but can watch it online.
West Point has made every effort to keep Saturday's commencement ceremony "as close to normal as possible," Lt. Col. Chris Ophardt told CNN in an interview Friday.
"Instead of being handed the diploma, they will render a salute from a small stage that's about 15 feet in front of where the President will be standing," Ophardt said. "So when their name gets read, instead of getting handed a diploma ... they'll step forward and they'll salute the President; President and Lt. Gen. Williams will salute back, and then they'll leave the stage, and that will be their recognition."